Abstract
Evidence on the effect of ambient air pollution on vitamin D is limited. This study aimed to examine the association of air pollution exposure with serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) using UK Biobank health datasets. A total of 448,337 subjects were included in this analysis. Land Use Regression was applied to assess individual exposures to particulate matter with diameters ≤2.5 µm (PM(2.5)), ≤10 µm (PM(10)), nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)), and nitrogen oxides (NO(x)). Linear regression models evaluated the associations between air pollutants and serum vitamin D levels after adjustment of a series of confounders. All analyzed air pollutants were negatively associated with serum vitamin 25OHD levels. After adjusting for potential confounders, a 10 μg/m(3) increase in concentrations of PM(2.5), PM(10), NO(x), and NO(2) was associated with -9.11 (95%CI: -13.25 to -4.97), -2.47 (95%CI: -4.51 to -0.43), -0.56 (95%CI: -0.82 to -0.30), and -1.64 (95%CI: -2.17 to -1.10) nmol/L decrease in serum vitamin 25OHD levels, respectively. Interaction analyses suggested that the effects of air pollution were more pronounced in females. In conclusion, long-term exposures to ambient PM(2.5), PM(10), NO(x), and NO(2) were associated with vitamin D status in a large UK cohort.